Poetry from the Trenches of World War I
Amanda Hilliard Smith
Beaufort County Early College High School
Washington, North Carolina
Grade Level:
9 - 12
Objectives:
At the conclusion of this lesson, students will be able to

Analyze World War I poetry in order to gain insight into the soldiers’ point of view
of the battlefield

Construct a poem from the point of view of a soldier using historical evidence
from various primary and secondary sources
Guiding Question:
What insight can primary sources, like poetry, provide on the soldiers’ point of view of the
World War I battlefield?
Connections to Common Core:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of
primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an
understanding of the text as a whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or
secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among
the key details and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key
term over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in Federalist No. 10).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.5 Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is
structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text
contribute to the whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.6 Evaluate authors’ differing points of view on the same
historical event or issue by assessing the authors’ claims, reasoning, and evidence.
Connections to C3 Framework:
D2.His.4.9-12 Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of
people during different historical eras.
D2.His.11-9-12 Critique the usefulness of historical sources for a specific historical
inquiry based on their maker, date, place of origin, intended audience, and purpose.
D4.6.9-12 Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics
and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple
context, and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these
problems over time and place.
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Documents Used:
Audio Recording:
Enrico Caruso, "Over There," audio recording
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/6728
Poetry:
Eva Dobell, "Pluck"
https://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/wwllit/education/tutorials/intro/women
Eva Dobell was a British nurse during World War I who was known to write poems about
some of her patients.
Wilfred Owen, "Dulce et Decorum”; “Anthem for a Doomed Youth”
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3303
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3290?CISOBOX=1&REC=2
Wilfred Owen, composed most of his poems between August 1917 to September 1918,
was killed at the age of 25 only one week before the Armistice.
Siegfried Sassoon, "How to Die"; “Does It Matter”
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/document/9855/9705
https://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/tutorials/intro/sassoon/does.html
Siegfried Sasson was a decorated British war hero who spoke out against the war after
being repeatedly wounded in battle.
Edward Thomas, "Rain"
https://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/tutorials/intro/thomas/rain.html
Edward Thomas enlisted in the British Army in 1915 and was killed in action in France in
1917.
Images in the PowerPoint file:
William James Aylward:
American Troops Supply Train, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445411
His Bunkie, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445408
On the Trail of the Hun – St. Mihiel Drive, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445410
Troops Waiting to Advance at Hattonchâtel – St. Mihiel Drive, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1384429
George Matthews Harding:
American Infantry, Advancing with Tanks, September 12, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448021
3
Boche Plane Falling in No Man’s Land of Verdun Offensive, October 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448020
Exploded Boche Dump at Cierges, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448027
First Aid Station with American Wounded, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448015
Road to La Charmel, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448014
Rounding up Boche Prisoners, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448013
Verdun Offensive, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448004
Morgan Wallace, Out from Battle, 1918
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448043
Ernest Clifford Piexotto, The Flying Field, Issoudun, August 1918.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445349
Addison N. Scurlock, Soldier in World War I uniform with hat: photoprint
http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID:siris_arc_227945
Lesson Description:
Overview: Poetry was a popular means of expressing opinions during World War I. This
lesson uses poems as primary sources that provide insight into the soldier’s point of view
of the battlefield. Students will use the information they learn about World War I to write
their own poems from a soldier’s perspective.
Time: One 90 minute class or two 45 minute class periods
Materials:

Computer for World War I PowerPoint and audio

Poem handouts

Poem Rubric handout
Lesson Preparation:

Before class the teacher needs to download World War I Images PowerPoint and
Enrico Caruso’s recording of “Over There” so that it is playing as students enter the
room.
4

The teacher needs to assign students into groups of four and determine the roles
each student will perform. Each student will need a copy of the poem their group
is assigned along with a poem rubric handout.
Procedure:
 As students enter the classroom a PowerPoint, which is attached to this lesson, will
display images of World War I soldiers. Along with the images, the students will
hear an Enrico Caruso recording of “Over There.”

The images and music will be used to start a discussion on soldiers’ perspectives
on the war. Suggested questions:
o How do these images make you feel?
o How do these images contrast with the upbeat music?
o How would American soldiers view these images/music?

Teacher should select an image and ask students, based on this image, what can
you learn about life as a soldier?

The teacher will read aloud Wilfred Owen’s "Dulce et Decorum Est.” The teacher
will stop periodically to model interpreting the text and asking the students
questions. A copy of the poem along with notes is provided in handout 1.

Students will be placed in groups of four and assigned one of the following roles:
o
o
o
o

Clarifier: clarifies confusing words or phrases in the poem
Connector: connects the poem to previous knowledge
Questioner: poses questions about the poem
Summarizer: summarizes key ideas in the poem
Each group will be given a poem to discuss. After all the students have finished
reading, the students will perform their role in the discussion.
o The clarifier begins by explaining any words or phrases that the students
have trouble understanding. The teacher might choose to delete the
definitions on the handout if the students have access to a computer or
dictionary.
o The connector highlights parts of the poem that relates to the information
previously covered in class.
o Then the questioner asks questions about the poem that the other group
members answer.
o Finally, the summarizer writes a paragraph that explains the meaning of
the poem.
5

The groups will take turns sharing their findings with the class. The teacher will
ask questions to the class. Suggested questions:
o
o
o
o
What are some benefits to using poems to study World War I?
What are some limitations in using poems to study World War I?
What are some common themes found in the poems?
“Pluck” was written by a World War I nurse. How is her poem similar and
different from that of a soldier’s?

The teacher will then ask the students to find evidence in the poems that provides
insight into the lives of a soldier during World War I.
Assessment Materials:
 Students will write a poem about World War I from the perspective of a soldier.
The students will incorporate information that they learned about World War I from
the poems they analyzed as well as knowledge gained in previous lessons. The
students will be judged based on a poem rubric.
Methods for Extension:
 Students could compare World War I poems with other poems or documents
written by soldiers during different time periods. Students could look for common
themes as well as learn about issues that were unique to each war.

Students start by creating a collage of World War I pictures, including descriptions
of what is going on in each picture. Students use the pictures to write a reflection
on the effects of war.
Adaptations:
 Instead of a poem, the teacher might choose to assign the students to write a
letter or postcard from the point of view of World War I soldier.

For more advanced students, the teacher might have students research the life of
World War I soldier and have the student prepare a report.
6
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Aylward, William James. American Troops Supply Train. 1918. Smithsonian National
Museum of American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445411.
_____. His Bunkie. 1918. Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445408.
_____. On the Trail of the Hun – St. Mihiel Drive. 1918. Smithsonian National Museum of
American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445410.
_____. Troops Waiting to Advance at Hattonchâtel – St. Mihiel Drive. 1918. Smithsonian
National Museum of American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1384429.
Caruso, Enrico. “Over There," 1918, audio recording. Library of Congress.
http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/6728.
Dobell, Eva. "Pluck." The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, University of Oxford.
Accessed January 27, 2014.
https://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/wwllit/education/tutorials/intro/women.
Harding, George Matthews. American Infantry, Advancing with Tanks. September 12,
1918. Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448021.
_____. Boche Plane Falling in No Man’s Land of Verdun Offensive. October, 1918.
Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448020.
_____. Exploded Boche Dump at Cierges. 1918. Smithsonian National Museum of American
History. http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448027.
_____. First Aid Station with American Wounded. 1918. Smithsonian National Museum of
American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448015.
_____. Road to La Charmel. 1918. Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448014.
7
_____. Rounding up Boche Prisoners. 1918. Smithsonian National Museum of American
History. http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448013.
_____. Verdun Offensive. 1918. Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448004.
Morgan, Wallace. Out from Battle. 1918. Smithsonian National Museum of American
History. http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_448043.
Peixotto, Ernest Clifford. The Flying Field, Issoudun. August 1918. Smithsonian National
Museum of American History.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_445349.
Owen, Wilfred. "Dulce et Decorum." The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, University
of Oxford. Accessed January 27, 2014.
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3303.
_____. "Anthem for a Doomed Youth." The First World War Poetry Digital Archive,
University of Oxford. Accessed January 27, 2014.
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3290?CISOBOX=1&REC=2.
Sassoon, Siegfried. "How to Die." The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, University of
Oxford. Accessed January 27, 2014.
http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/document/9855/9705.
_____. "Does It Matter?" The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, University of Oxford.
Accessed January 27, 2014.
https://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/tutorials/intro/sassoon/does.html.
Scurlock, Addison N. Soldier in World War I uniform with hat: photoprint. Smithsonian
National Museum of American History.
http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID:siris_arc_227945.
Thomas, Edward. "Rain." The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, University of Oxford.
Accessed January 27, 2014.
https://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/tutorials/intro/thomas/rain.html.
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“Dulce et Decorum Est”
“Dulce et Decorum Est” - the title is a Latin
By Wilfred Owen
1 Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
saying, “It is sweet and right.” The phrase
was often repeated at the start of the war.
The full quote is at the end of the poem and
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
translates to “it is sweet and right to die for
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
your country.”
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
5 Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Flares- To flame up with a bright, sudden light.
Distant Rest- safety of the camp.
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.
Hoots- The noise made by the shells rushing
Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! -- An ecstasy of fumbling,
10 Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
through the air.
Five-Nines- 5.9 caliber explosive shells
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Gas! Poison gas. Gas fills the lungs with fluid
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
and has the same effects as when a person is
As under I green sea, I saw him drowning.
drowning.
15 In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
Helmets- the early name for gas masks
Panes- glass in the eye piece of the gas masks
Plunges- To throw violently.
Smothering- to suffocate.
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
20 His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, -25 My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Pace- To walk.
Gargling- To force air quickly from the mouth,
referring to the sounds in the throat of the
choking man.
Obscene- offensive.
Cud - normally the regurgitated grass that
cows chew. Here a similar looking material was
coming out of the soldier's mouth.
Incurable- incapable of being altered.
Zest- intense. Ardent- intensely devoted.
Handout 2
"How to Die"
By Siegfried Sassoon
1 Dark clouds are smoldering into red
While down the craters morning burns.
The dying soldier shifts his head
To watch the glory that returns;
5 He lifts his fingers toward the skies
Where holy brightness breaks in flame;
Radiance reflected in his eyes,
And on his lips a whispered name.
You'd think, to hear some people talk
10 That lads go West with sobs and curses,
And sullen faces white as chalk,
Hankering for wreaths and tombs and hearses.
But they've been taught the way to do it
Like Christian soldiers; not with haste
15 And shuddering groans; but passing through it
With due regard for decent taste.
Smoldering- To show signs of repressed anger or hatred.
Craters- A bowl-shaped depression in a surface made by an explosion.
Radiance- warm, cheerful brightness.
Sullen- gloomy, showing bad humor.
Hankering- To have a strong, often restless desire.
Shuddering- To shiver convulsively, as from fear.
Decent- morally upright, respectable.
Handout 3
"Anthem for a Doomed Youth"
By Wilfred Owen
1
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
--Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
5
No mockeries for them from prayers or bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
10 Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of silent minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Patter- To move with quick, light, soft steps.
Orisons- a prayer.
Mockeries- an act of ridicule.
Demented- mentally ill, insane.
Bugles- a brass wind instrument.
Shires- a county in Great Britain.
Pallor- extreme or unnatural paleness.
Pall- a coffin.
Handout 4
“Rain”
By Edward Thomas
1 Rain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain
On this bleak hut, and solitude, and me
Remembering again that I shall die
And neither hear the rain nor give it thanks
5 For washing me cleaner than I have been
Since I was born into this solitude.
Blessed are the dead that the rain rains upon:
But here I pray that none whom once I loved
Is dying to-night or lying still awake
10 Solitary, listening to the rain,
Either in pain or thus in sympathy
Helpless among the living and the dead,
Like a cold water among broken reeds,
Myriads of broken reeds all still and stiff,
15 Like me who have no love which this wild rain
Has not dissolved except the love of death,
If love it be for what is perfect and
Cannot, the tempest tells me, disappoint.
Bleak- gloomy and somber.
Solitude- a lonely place.
Myriads- a large number.
Dissolved- to cause to disappear or vanish.
Tempest- a violent windstorm.
Handout 5
“Does it Matter?”
Siegfried Sassoon
1
Does it matter?-losing your legs?...
For people will always be kind,
And you need not show that you mind
When the others come in after hunting
5
To gobble their muffins and eggs.
Does it matter?-losing your sight?..
There's such splendid work for the blind;
And people will always be kind,
As you sit on the terrace remembering
10 And turning your face to the light.
Do they matter?-those dreams from the pit?..
You can drink and forget and be glad,
And people won't say that you're mad;
For they'll know you've fought for your country
15 And no one will worry a bit.
Gobble- to eat quickly.
Splendid- very good.
Terrace- a porch.
Handout 6
“Pluck”
Eva Dobell
1 Crippled for life at seventeen,
His great eyes seem to question why:
With both legs smashed it might have been
Better in that grim trench to die
5 Than drag maimed years out helplessly.
A child - so wasted and so white,
He told a lie to get his way,
To march, a man with men, and fight
While other boys are still at play.
10 A gallant lie your heart will say.
So broke with pain, he shrinks in dread
To see the 'dresser' drawing near;
And winds the clothes about his head
That none may see his heart-sick fear.
15 His shaking, strangled sobs you hear.
But when the dreaded moment's there
He'll face us all, a soldier yet,
Watch his bared wounds with unmoved air,
(Though tell-tale lashes still are wet),
20 And smoke his woodbine cigarette.
Crippled- a person who is disabled.
Maimed- to injure.
Gallant- brave and high-spirited.
Shrinks- to draw back.
Woodbine- honeysuckle.
Handout 7
Poetry Rubric
Word Choice
Beginning
Developing
Accomplished
Exemplary
1
2
3
4
General or
Attempts to use
Attempts to use
Precise, original,
ordinary words.
descriptive words
descriptive words
fresh words
Includes
to create images.
to create images
Creates vivid
inappropriate
Does not
Tries to use
images.
words or
experiment with
words for
limited use of
new or different
specificity
vocabulary.
words.
Experiments with
new and different
words with some
success.
Organization
Sequencing is
Sequencing is
Sequencing is
Uses a logical,
not evident.
evident, but is
logical. The
effective
illogical.
poetry form has
organizational
been followed
strategy and
with more errors
follows format of
than it should.
each poem
exactly. Poem
uses form to
interpret idea
creatively and
effectively.
Main Idea
Evidence
Sources
Information has
Information does
Information does
Information
little or nothing
not relate to the
not relate to the
clearly relates to
to do with the
main topic. No
main topic. It
the main topic. It
topic.
details or
includes
includes
examples are
supporting
supporting
given.
details/examples.
details/examples.
There are
Most facts
Almost all
All details and/or
several factual
presented in the
details/examples
examples
errors and/or
poem are
are accurate and
presented in the
the examples
accurate (70%)
fully explained.
poem are
are not fully
and fully
accurate and fully
explained.
explained.
explained.
No sources are
Some sources
All sources are
All sources are
listed for
are not in the
documented
reliable and
evidence.
desired format.
correctly but
accurately
some are
documented.
unreliable.
Score
Spelling
Contains
Contain many
Contains some
Contains no
frequent and
errors in
errors that do not
spelling,
numerous
spelling,
interfere with the
grammar, and
errors in
grammar, and/or
reader’s
punctuation
spelling,
punctuation that
understanding.
errors.
grammar, and
may interfere
punctuation
with the reader’s
that interferes
understanding.
with the
reader’s
understanding.
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